Grapes, Gis & Gut Instinct | Dennis McCarter | Barrels and Roots

I sat down with Dennis McCarter, founder of McGregor McCarter's Cellars, and honestly this conversation hit different. Dennis left a 13-year career in insurance after the Tubbs Fire reshaped his world, and instead of starting over in something safe, he leaned all the way into his passion for winemaking. We talked about the Japanese philosophy of Jita Kyoei, mutual benefit and winning together, and how it shows up everywhere from sharing equipment in a custom crush to mentoring interns in the cellar. We got into the unglamorous reality of harvest season, stuck fermentations, heat spikes pushing Brix overnight, and why adapting rather than panicking is the skill no school teaches you. Dennis also gets real about making wine more inclusive and breaking down the myth that it belongs to only one type of person or occasion. This one is for the career-changers, the late bloomers, and anyone who's ever needed a reminder that the best things take time. What's a skill or craft in your life that you had to learn the hard way, and what's the one thing you wish someone had told you sooner?